Currently, messaging systems possess limited storage and retrieval capabilities. In general, a messaging system facilitates the transmission of messages, such as text messages, over a communications network. For example, in a conventional pager or Mobitex system, text messages are transmitted over a wireless network. Typically, a messaging infrastructure contains only a limited amount of storage space in databases for the storage of messages. The rapid expansion of the number of messages sent over these infrastructures produces a demand to store more messages on a limited amount of database capacity. Therefore, messages are stored in these databases with a minimal amount of accompanying information. Message storage is currently designed to be as basic as possible in order to conserve data storage space on a system with immense data storage demands. In order to keep the storage demands under control, wireless telecommunications carriers often create simplified methods for storing messages. As such, these messaging systems are capable of handling only a few different types of messages.
In a typical wireless communications system, only a fixed set of message types is supported. A particular wireless company usually designs its messaging infrastructure to support the various communications protocols it provides related to those message types. However, different wireless companies often support different communications protocols. In many cases, the messaging protocols of one system are unsupported by the infrastructure of another system. Moreover, due to technological progress and the integration of standard internet protocols into wireless communications, the number of different types of messages is rapidly increasing.
For example, it is now possible to send a message with an attached file to a wireless device. A typical wireless communications platform has difficulty handling the attached file. Instead, the message itself is delivered and the attached file is unfortunately dropped. With the increasing number and size of attachments sent with messages, it is important that a messaging infrastructure possess the capability of properly handling attached files.
Further, with the advent of proprietary files, a new type of storage and retrieval system is required to preserve the proprietary nature of those files. A typical messaging infrastructure does not provide for the storage of proprietary files. Typically, proprietary files are stored in the same manner as common messages. As such, the proprietary nature of those files is not preserved.
Increasingly, messaging systems are required to handle multiple types of messages and multiple communications protocols. Applicants have found that current messaging systems lack the ability to process and transmit the multiple types of messages sent today. Accordingly, Applicants have found that a new messaging infrastructure with improved storage and retrieval functionality is necessary.